Alabama City Among 10 Most Affordable Cities to Live and Work In

December 20, 2018

Birmingham is one of the the nation’s most affordable cities, according to a survey comparing rent to salary.

BusinessStudent.com, which offers business school reviews and tracks business news topics, is out with a ranking of the 25 most affordable cities to live and work in for 2019. The Magic City ranks eighth, one of five Southern cities to crack the top 10. Tulsa, Okla. topped the list.

The ranking was arrived at by comparing the highest quoted salaries from more than 100 business-related jobs on Indeed.com to average rent for a two-bedroom apartment from Rentjungle.com.

Those salaries range from a medical director, making more than $187,000 a year, to security supervisor, making a little more than $31,000 annually.

According to the ranking, Birmingham has an average salary of $73,758, and an average rent of $1,120. That leaves about 82 percent of your income after rent, or $60,318.

The cheapest average monthly rent was $863 in Tulsa, while the highest average rent was Dallas’ $1,422. Texas had five cities in the top 25, and the highest disparity in the shortest distance. Dallas had the highest average salary at $82,609, while 180 miles away, College Station had the lowest average salary at $55,086.

About Us

The Alabama Association of REALTORS® (AAR) is the largest statewide organization of real estate professionals comprised of over 16,000 members from 26 boards and 1,200 real estate companies. United by adherence to a Code of Ethics, our members work as real estate professionals in the sale, lease, appraisal, management and development of residential, commercial, rural and resort properties throughout Alabama.